Chapter 19

"――【Light】!"

The dark cave was illuminated by a white light at Miu's words. Is this also a light attribute magic skill?

But I have the eyes of a hawk. I can now see clearly even to the depths of the cave where the light does not reach. But that might be a bad thing. Yes, I can see everything too clearly.

Rustle, rustle, rustle—

The sound of something scraping in the damp, oppressive air. I don't need night vision anymore. The sight is so grotesque that I even think about changing my senses. Centipedes, about fifty centimeters wide, are coming in droves. Red, round eyes shine in the darkness, appearing before me.

I got goosebumps. Even though it's just a game, I got goosebumps and forgot to use enchantments or look away.

"Then, big sister, I'm going!"

Saying that, Miu ran out. She stood in front of the slow-moving centipedes, held her one-handed sword with both hands, and slashed.

She thrust the sword into the joints of the insect, twisted it, and forcibly tore it apart.

The severed centipede let out a high-pitched scream and its headless body moved independently for about ten seconds.

I just want to cry at this sight.

I can understand why the women who ran away felt traumatized. How can anyone dive into that with such enthusiasm!?

"Let's keep going!"

"I don't want to! I don't want to keep seeing this!"

"Big sister! Since you're wearing paper armor, just focus on defense! Plus, you need to gather items, right!"

Miu continued to stab, twist, and separate the centipedes. I held back my complaints and looked away from the centipedes.

Ah, there are a lot of rocks in the cave. There are about three clumped together in one spot, and my appraisal eye identified them as iron ore. It's more efficient than running around the western forest, but it's mentally exhausting.

The hunting with the centipedes' high-pitched screams and the rustling sound that evokes physiological disgust as the BGM lasted for about thirty minutes.

"Big sister, this is the boss room, and beyond that is the quest item room."

"Should I fight too?"

"Hmm. It would be boring if big sister doesn't fight. Can you cast enchantments beforehand?"

"Got it, then, [Add—Attack, Defense, Speed]"

I cast the enchantments in quick succession. It was the first time I tried a triple enchantment, but it succeeded. However, the MP consumption increased exponentially with each additional enchantment. A fact I realized too late. In an RPG, it would be a fixed cost, but why does the difficulty of using the addition sense come up like this? I wondered.

"Then, I'm going!"

Miu cheerfully ran out. I didn't look at the enemy ahead, which was three times larger than the previous centipedes and had a jaw that opened and closed, dripping saliva that melted the floor. Its name is Acid Douser. The previous centipedes were Poison Dousers.

"Yaaaah!"

Miu shouted and charged at the Acid Douser while I walked around the large room. I could find rocks even where the magic light didn't reach. Oh, I found iron ore.

I heard a louder scream from the centipedes behind me while I searched for rocks.

I found a different stone. --A fossil. I don't know what kind of fossil, but it looks like one.

I examined it from all sides, but I couldn't tell. It's a fist-sized stone, so it's probably a fossil of a shell or a small fish.

"Big sister, I'm done here."

"Okay, good job."

"What's wrong? Did something happen?"

"I found a fossil."

"Wow, that's amazing!"

"Is it amazing? I don't know what kind of fossil it is."

"Fossils can be appraised by an NPC, so it's fine. Let's get it appraised when we return to town."

Apparently, fossils are remnants of ancient items. According to the setting, a specialized NPC can appraise them and restore them to items. In the past, in the beta version, a high-quality bone was found, and a harp was made from it. This is also a weapon, and instruments that produce sound are long-range weapons that use magic and sound as shockwaves.

Magic users use pure magic. Instruments are half magic and half physical, and bows and arrows are completely physical. This is the relationship that has been established.

"What will come out?"

"Hmm, I don't know. Disappointment can be huge when expectations are high."

"But fossils are like lottery tickets. Depending on the case, they could be metal, meat, or even dragon droppings."

"Ugh!"

"So, even at this stage, there's a possibility of getting a rare item."

"I see. How much does the appraisal cost?"

"Hmm, a flat rate of 5000G."

"…I only have 2030G."

"Don't worry! The quest reward is 3000G and an important item!"

Still, it's 5030G. My equipment enhancement is getting further away.

"Cheer up, the quest is almost over."

"…Ah, yeah."

Miu pulled my hand, and we proceeded deeper into the cave. Light leaked from the depths of the cave, and even with my hawk eyes, I couldn't see beyond the backlight.

"The final part of the quest, the deepest part of the Chris Cave—Crystal Tree Flower Field."

"Wow, it's beautiful."

The scent of flowers wafted, and the cave ceiling opened, with light pouring down from that spot. Colorful flowers bloomed, gathering in the light. In the center, water gushed out, and a giant crystal towered.

"This Crystal Tree has only been confirmed in this quest so far. I like this scenery."

"Yeah, it's a good place."

"At first, I thought I'd show you a screenshot, but since you became a girl, I wanted to show you directly. But, my combat sense didn't grow quickly, so I had to grow enough to come here safely alone."

"Ah, ah, ah!? So, you were rejected by your friend or the level grinding was a lie!?"

"My friend was a lie, but the level grinding was real! But, because you cast the enchantments, the long battle with the giant centipedes ended quickly! It's true."

I thought, lying to your brother. But I ruffled her head affectionately.

"Thanks. For showing me this place."

"Y-Yeah."

Miu smiled shyly. Kuu, it's been a while since I've seen this expression. She's usually energetic and reckless, but sometimes she's meek.

"Hey, I want this scenery too. How do you take a screenshot?"

"Oh, yeah. I'll show you how."

After that, a bit awkwardly, Miu taught me how to take a screenshot. The crystal tree in the photo was beautifully captured.

We sat down in the flower field and chatted a bit, and the awkwardness faded, and we both felt relaxed. Recently, we've been so engrossed in the game that we haven't had such a relaxed conversation.

"Yeah, it's a good change of pace."

"Are we going back already?"

"We need to finish the quest quickly and go back. It's getting late. First, let's do this."

Ignoring Miu's immersion in the water, I approached the crystal tree.

"Here we go!"

"Oh, you broke it!?"

"Yeah. The quest item is a branch of this Crystal Tree. Here, big sister."

I received the sparkling branch of the Crystal Tree.

Crystal Tree Branch [Important Item]

A tree like a crystal. Since it grows only about one centimeter a year, a tree taller than a person is over 150 years old. It is said that there are Crystal Trees in this world that are 10,000 years old.

No, no, this is only the length of a pinky! Is it okay to break it?

"It's fine. Big sister, the broken part will grow back once we leave this place."

"Sure, game quality. Fantasy. And, Miu, you called me 'big sister' again after calling me 'big brother' earlier."

"Oh! You noticed!"

Well, of course I noticed. Although the journey was terrible, you prepared quite a surprise for me.

On the way back, with the quest completed, no centipedes appeared, and we returned while occasionally defeating mobs and gathering items.

We received the reward from the geologist NPC who gave us the quest.

Hmm. I'm tired today, so I'll call it a day. I'll make a slightly more luxurious dinner for Miu as an apology for yesterday.

Revised—Complete